Oates, Emmerson lack rhythm at state

PORTLAND — Tennis is a game of ups and downs, and unfortunately for HRV’s top doubles team, last Friday was a down day at the Portland Tennis Club.

Junior Corinne Oates and sophomore Lauren Emmerson were riding high after winning third place at the district competition May 7-8. But something didn’t feel right when they took to the court at state.

“It was an off day,” said Emmerson, who was making her second consecutive appearance at state. “Our first opponent wasn’t that strong. Our shots just weren’t working for us.”

Due to a rain delay, Emmerson and Oates were only granted five minutes of warm-up before their opening round match against Christy Irvine and Christine McSherry of Lakeridge. Both HRV players had trouble finding their strokes and lost 6-3, 6-2.

They followed that up with an 8-3 pro-set loss to sisters Kristin and Rachel Wortman of Crook County.

“After watching that first match, it kind of seemed like the girls had reached their peak at district,” coach Barb Hosford said. “But they played much better in round two when the pressure was off.

“The level of competition (in the tournament) was better than we have seen all year. These girls are on the right track, though, and this experience should benefit them next year,” she said.

While Emmerson was playing in her second state match, Oates was playing in just her first. In fact, she has only been playing competitive tennis for one year.

“Corinne was lucky to have made it after only one year,” Hosford said. “She and Lauren were a combo that worked well all year and it will be interesting to see what they do next season.”